Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Traveling on a Whole Food's Diet

Traveling is a whole new ball game these days. I remember feeling so excited to take a weekend road trip when it was just me and Michael. Everything was so easy and seamless....carefree you might say. These days the word carefree is not even in our vocabulary. With a baby, a type-A mama and a new way of eating I was a stressful mess the day we were set to leave on our family road trip.

We've traveled as a family of three twice before, but this trip was a little different since we were staying with family members and things were a little more out of our control (we all know how I love that). My biggest worry was about food for a couple of reasons. I refuse to feed my baby crap fast food and when Ethan wants to eat he wants to eat. He has yet to learn how to "go with the flow" so I always feel the need to be very prepared. We are also on a budget and trying our best to stay away from fast food so I needed options for us to eat in the car on our way there and back.

I packed a ton of options so we would all be satisfied and not bored with what I brought. I was happy with all the choices I packed, however, next time I will probably bring less of each option to save on space. I packed a variety of fruit and veggies, a pasta and a veggie salad, milk and water, granola, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, hummus, cream cheese, peanut butter, honey, jelly, organic cheddar bunnies, bread and tortillas. I also made sure to bring paper towels and utensils.

One thing I learned is that it would probably be better to assemble the wraps and sandwiches before we left so I didn't have to do it in the car. I had at least pre chopped all the veggies and fruit so they were all handy. I look forward to traveling in the summer when we can stop at a rest area with picnic tables because car eating is not as much fun as I thought it would be. We used the booster seat for Ethan which was fabulous, but peanut butter did end up covering my car door and window. Ick.

Our trip went very smoothly and I contribute part of that to me being very prepared. I didn't have to worry about what time everything was happening or where we were going because I had options always ready for Ethan when he needed/wanted them. It helped me to relax and enjoy the trip and not feel like that pain in the ass that has to control every aspect.

I can't say that I stuck to my new whole foods diet on this trip. It's amazingly hard when you are out of your element and eating out to make the right choices. Ethan, however, did not have a diet change on our vacation because of my preparedness. Well, that is if you don't count the little bite of king cake that I absolutely would not deny him of!

I love that you had such a great variety prepared. We travel a state over to visit our families pretty often and I always have plenty of food but some variety would be nice. I also like that you included pasta!

You rock mama!!! I tried so hard to do something similar with my girls when we went to Disney last May but I failed miserably! I think it makes things easier for the kid(s) when we stick to a "normal" state of being while traveling and that totally includes what foods they usually eat!! I commend you for being so well prepared!!

HI! I'M LAURA.

Once a Martha Stewart wanna-be, now stay-at-home mom, I find myself living in a world of sticky floors and excellently cropped photos. I'm a perfectionist at heart, ungracefully succumbing to the reality of motherhood. I don't do drop-overs, but here you are always welcomed. So, sit back, laugh, cry, but most importantly enjoy this realistic ride called life of two with me.